Dark Mode mania: but what is the dark theme really for and what changes for iPhone and Android smartphones? From sight benefits to battery life.
Dark Mode: the dark theme for iOS and Android invades apps and drives users who like to dye their favorite apps black, from WhatsApp to Instagram. What changes and what is the Dark Mode really for and what are the actual benefits for the smartphones that install it?
There are those who talk about drums and prolonged autonomy, along with stylistic benefits. The dark theme has become a real prerogative in recent months, involving not only the main operating systems (there is also the version for Google Chrome ) but also different applications.
Users seem to love it, being able to satisfy the taste of applying the dark theme to the usual white. Let’s try to understand what really changes and when it is convenient to install the Dark Mode.
Dark Mode for iOS and Android: what is it for?
The dark theme is introduced to make sight easier, often fatigued in the evening hours and when the smartphone is used in the dark with blinding white that dominates almost all the main applications.
WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook itself: the white color has become a standard but does not protect users from the so-called blue light emitted by the screens. In the past the night light mode has been introduced, which allows to reduce this phenomenon they turn the colors of the screen towards warmer and more accommodating shades for our retina.
Is the Dark Mode on smartphone good for the eyes? There are no 100% certain answers: there is no doubt that turning on a smartphone with a dark theme applied during the hours of darkness is less tiring than the blunder received from the traditional screen with white colors.
The beneficial effect then increases if your smartphone is equipped with OLED screens, a central feature for the next point.
Does the dark theme on smartphones increase battery life?
The nerve center on which many push for Dark Mode is the battery life, which would see its duration increased thanks to dark colors.
In this case the answer is always uncertain, even if on the theoretical level the only smartphones that benefit from the dark theme are those with the latest generation OLED displays.
The reason is really simple and lies in the main features of this type of screen: the total blacks make it possible not to light up the part of the screen touched by the black color, going to significantly reduce the life of the devices.
A recent test published on YouTube by PhoneBuff, an American channel specializing in smartphones: in fact, the video shows how the Dark Mode increases battery life on iPhone X, Xs and 11 by 30%.
The main screens of the current top-of-the-range smartphones are equipped with OLED screens, so it is not very difficult to find such a device at a good price. The Dark Mode is able to give its best then on this type of device, benefits also for the normal LED display but which are not effective in the same way (the LED screens light up all their photocells, including those related to the black color).